Ranking the Super Bowls

That's what I've endeavored to answer with this photo essay, with the help of former Dallas Cowboys personnel guru and NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt. You'll see his recollections in some of the game descriptions. As for the other analysis, well that's mine.

I take my responsibility as NFL.com Historian seriously, but not so seriously that I can't take some guff. Hit me up @HarrisonNFL if you think I missed the mark on one -- or many -- of these Super Bowls.

50 Photos Total

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Al Messerschmidt/Associated Press

50. Super Bowl XXIV - San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10

Gil Brandt's take: "The 55-10 game in New Orleans might have been the worst. The Broncos just didn't match up with the 49ers. They couldn't stop them."

Uh, ditto. If the Pleiadians or some other alien race finds our planet in 200 years, and discovers NFL Films, let's hope this isn't the one film canister they discover. Super Bowl XXIV was brutal from start to finish. Really, it was never a game. It was 27-3 at halftime. Get excited.

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Paul Sancya/Associated Press

49. Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8

Gil Brandt's take: "I was not expecting that kind of dominance by the Seahawks. That said, based on the display of strength I saw, I do think that Seattle team could match up well against almost any past Super Bowl winner in history, including the 1977 Cowboys."

You got an ominous feeling the moment you saw the shotgun snap whiz past Peyton Manning and into the end zone that it wasn't going to be the Broncos' day. To be perfectly frank, it wasn't the Super Bowl's day, either. The Seahawks' 43-8 pasting of Denver was even more of a blowout than the score indicates. To say the Broncos were out of sync is like saying Pete Carroll gets a wee bit buzzed when Marshawn Lynch runs through three guys ... or when Kam Chancellor stops three guys.

Any drama in this game was stepped on and sprinted past the moment Percy Harvin took the second-half kickoff to the house. Suddenly, a 22-nuthin' nail-biter was 29-zip. Your serve, Peyton!

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Associated Press

48. Super Bowl IV - Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7

Gil Brandt's take: "That wasn't a very good game. It was played in old Tulane Stadium. It was not an exciting game and the Chiefs killed them. Everyone remembers that Kansas City's head coach, Hank Stram, was mic'd the whole time."

Keep "matriculating the ball down the field, boys," Stram would say for the NFL Films crew. Now that's some football talk right there.

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National Football League

47. Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14

Gil Brandt didn't really like this game, and nor do I. It was the Vikings' last stand, and it was ugly. They were really never in the game. The final tally was 32-14, but it really wasn't that close. Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff was named game MVP, but really, the Raiders' ground attack dominated the Vikings' famous front four ... 266 rushing yards is no joke.

46. Super Bowl XXIX - San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26

This Super Bowl felt like the Who's-gonna-be-the-sacrificial-lamb-to-the-winner-of-the-Cowboys-49ers-NFC-Championship-Game Bowl. It was.

Gil Brandt's take: "That Chargers club got off to a slow start and really shouldn't have even been there."

No, they shouldn't have. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan went over all 300 plays beforehand, and knew they were ready. Young's line: 24-36 for 325 yards and six touchdowns. That would indicate he was probably ready to play.

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Associated Press

45. Super Bowl VIII - Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7

Miami ran Larry Csonka counter to the flow of traffic, making the impact of the knifing Alan Page -- the Minnesota Vikings' Hall of Fame defensive tackle -- almost negligible. Csonka ran for 145 yards, and quarterback Bob Griese threw seven passes all game. This was pretty much awful.

For you lovers of fun facts out there: Super Bowl VIII was played at Rice Stadium. You know, the Rice Owls, a Division I powerhouse. Who would've thought?

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Associated Press

44. Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6

The Steelers' momentous franchise victory -- their first NFL championship in 40 years as an organization -- came at the expense of fans. What a snoozer, made up for by the fact there was no offense. And when I mean no offense, I mean no offense. The Vikings' 10,000 lakes offense* -- the precursor to the West Coast offense -- racked up 119 yards. Franco Harris rushed for 158 by himself. Uh, no offense intended, Vikings fans.

* The Vikings offense wasn't really called that. I needed something for this lousy game and that's all I had.

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David Drapkin/Associated Press

43. Super Bowl XLI - Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17

Awful conditions in a game that featured Rex Grossman at quarterback. Peyton Manning shot a commercial with a colleague of mine after this Super Bowl, and told him the Colts "could've scored 70 that game." I believe it. The Bears' Cover-2 scheme left Reggie Wayne open by about a dozen yards on his 53-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

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Kevin Reece/Associated Press

42. Super Bowl XXXV - Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7

Perhaps my least favorite Super Bowl, made worse by Steven Tyler doing a halftime show with Britney Spears. This game was saved, at least from an entertainment standpoint, when three touchdowns were scored on three straight plays: A Baltimore Ravens touchdown, the New York Giants' Ron Dixon brought the kickoff all the way back, and then Ravens kick returner Jermaine Lewis answered.

Without that string of football magic dust, this dud would have been even lower on this list.

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Associated Press

41. Super Bowl XII - Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10

Dallas' second Super Bowl win was an unexciting game, with the Cowboy defense dominating throughout. Gil Brandt recalled safety Randy Hughes' performance, and laments that a player with such potential had his career ruined by shoulder injuries.

Hughes and the secondary played well, but co-MVPs Harvey Martin and Randy White were downright suffocating for the Denver Broncos quarterbacks, who combined to go 8-25 for 61 yards and four interceptions.

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Paul Spinelli/Associated Press

40. Super Bowl XXXVII - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21

After much reflection on this game, I came up with this: Rich Gannon played poorly, the Tampa 2 did not. This Super Bowl made football America aware of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

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David Drapkin/Associated Press

39. Super Bowl XL - Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10

For a relatively close game, no one I've spoken with liked this game, on any level. This Super Bowl featured a horrific uni matchup, bad calls by the refs, and a storyline that centered on Jerome Bettis finishing his career in his hometown of Detroit. Yippee.

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Jim Mone/Associated Press

38. Super Bowl XXVI - Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24

Other than Thurman Thomas misplacing his helmet prior to the game, causing him to miss the start, this Super Bowl was devoid of excitement. The 37-24 loss was the first of three consecutive awful losses for Marv Levy's Buffalo Bills, and perhaps the only time anyone thought the Washington Redskins' Mark Rypien might be the best quarterback in the NFL. Come on, somebody did.

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National Football League

37. Super Bowl I - Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10

Gil Brandt's take: "The Packer receivers, Boyd Dowler and Max McGee, were in the old locker rooms there at the L.A. Coliseum before the game. McGee says to Dowler, 'Hey, you can't come out of the game. I can't play today. I was out all night and got in at 7 a.m.' Well, of course Dowler gets knocked out and McGee comes in and catches that slant for a big touchdown."

McGee would go on to catch seven passes for 138 yards, and added a score.

Brandt: "We lost in the championship to the Packers that year because a linemen we traded for, Jim Boeke, jumped offsides when we had first-and-goal from the 2. Don Meredith ended up having to try to pass to get the touchdown and threw the interception to Tom Brown."

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AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac

36. Super Bowl XXVII - Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17

Leon Lett's non-touchdown fumble return has been a teaching video for literally a million junior high football players, courtesy of former Buffalo Bills wideout Don Beebe. Who sprints that hard to stop a 52-17 game from being 59-17?

Beebe did.

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National Football League

35. Super Bowl XV - Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10

Oakland Raiders linebacker Rod Martin intercepted the ball three times. It's hard to win when the other team's linebacker gets three picks. This 27-10 ballgame was mostly a snoozer, although Philadelphia was in the game up until the Raiders dominated the fourth quarter.

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Mark Duncan/Associated Press

34. Super Bowl XXXIII - Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19

Gil Brandt's take: "The Vikings might have been the best team that year but, you know, they missed the field goal. (Gary) Anderson missed it. But it was more than just that kick. Remember, Atlanta's Chuck Smith came around the end and forced the fumble. That led to a touchdown (right before halftime.) Minnesota didn't need to be throwing in that situation."

The Vikings had a 20-7 lead with just over a minute left in the first half, and the ball at their own 18-yard line. Brandt has a point.

"In the Super Bowl, I remember the kid (Darrien Gordon) they got from San Diego got a big interception in that game, a really important play. He was a first-round draft pick of the Chargers."

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Al Messerschmidt/Associated Press

33. Super Bowl XXII - Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10

While the media circus centered around quarterback Doug Williams being African-American, perhaps some reporter should've noticed his quick release and 80 yards worth of arm strength. A record 35-point second quarter served notice in the Washington Redskins' 42-10 beatdown of the Denver Broncos.

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Associated Press

32. Super Bowl XVIII - Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9

Gil Brandt's take: "There's always a few plays that alter the outcome. If you go back, and look at games where a team gets a quick touchdown right before halftime, that team usually wins. Joe Theismann threw that little pass out in the flat, and No. 58 (Jack Squirek of the Los Angeles Raiders) intercepted and scored. That was a big factor in the game."

People forget that the 1983 Washington Redskins were considered almost unbeatable. Their turnover differential that season was an absolutely mind-boggling plus-46. Still, I would say a 38-9 loss constitutes a beating.

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National Football League

31. Super Bowl VI - Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3

Gil Brandt's take: "They were a good football team because of their defense. However, in the Super Bowl we were able to get Nick Buoniconti blocked. Hell, we ran for 250 yards on them. Then, Larry Csonka fumbles the ball away. He hadn't fumbled in 300 some odd touches that year before the Super Bowl ... and then there was the big sack.

"That was our best Cowboy team. We just had a reunion. You look at our running backs in that Super Bowl: Duane Thomas, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison, Dan Reeves. Who had four running backs like that? Our whole roster was like that. We had Mel Renfro and Herb Adderly at corner (both are in the Hall of Fame.) We also picked up Forrest Gregg and Lance Alworth (two more Hall of Famers) during that season!"

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Associated Press

30. Super Bowl II - Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14

The Packers dominated the Raiders in Vince Lombardi's last game as Green Bay's head coach and most famous citizen. Brandt remembers the subtleties of how the Packers advanced to the Super Bowl.

Gil Brandt's take: "We lost in the (NFL) championship in Green Bay, the Ice Bowl, at the end of the game. Their fullback Chuck Mercein made a couple of big plays on the game's last drive ... then Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown on the sneak.

"Well, earlier that year we had lost a running back to injury, and so had Green Bay, so we both needed someone. I called Chuck, and he told me that the Packers had already called him, and he felt they had a good shot of making the Super Bowl, so he was going to sign with them. He made the plays down the stretch to beat us."

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Damian Strohmeyer/Associated Press

29. Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10

While Super Bowl 50 was the golden anniversary of pro football's biggest game, it was far from a shining reflection of the NFL's best product. The promise of a defensive slugfest in the first half morphed into are-the-Panthers-ever-going-to-mount-a-serious-drive in the second. ... Cam Newton's questionable effort in the late stages was followed by his much-maligned post-game demeanor. Juxtaposed with all of this was one of the all-time great quarterbacks walking off into the pizza sunset, Lombardi Trophy in hand.

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Associated Press

28. Super Bowl XIX - San Francisco 49ers 38, Miami Dolphins 16

The greatest offensive season in NFL history, namely Dan Marino's 5,084-yard campaign, came to a resounding halt against the 49ers quartet of Pro Bowlers in the secondary. For one season, Eric Wright, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Hicks and Carlton Williamson were as elite as any back four in NFL history. Their play, along with Joe Montana going 24-35 for 331 yards and three touchdowns, won the day.

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Associated Press

27. Super Bowl V - Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13

Gil Brandt's take: "The Cowboys lost 16-13 to the Colts on Jim O'Brien's field goal. We were a better football team, talent-wise. We had come so close the previous years, losing back-to-back championship games to the Packers, then in '68 in Cleveland and to the Browns again in '69. So, now we lost on a 32-yard field goal by O'Brien after he had missed an extra point earlier in the same game!

"Duane Thomas fumbled at their 1-yard line. I still remember Jack Fette's big fat butt running over and giving the ball to the Colts. Our center Dave Manders got up from the pile and handed him the football. He still pointed the other way, and gave them possession! And then there was the tipped pass off their receiver Eddie Hinton's hands. It bounced right to John Mackey and they got a touchdown!"

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Associated Press

26. Super Bowl VII - Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7

The Miami Dolphins complete the 17-0 season with a 14-7 win. It would have been 17-0 if Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian made a late field goal, rather than serving a volleyball up after catching his own blocked kick. The Redskins' Mike Bass plucked it out of the air and scored the Redskins' only touchdown.

Oh well, undefeated is undefeated.

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Associated Press

25. Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

A blowout, yes, but a demolition made fun by, well, the most fun team in league history. I asked Gil Brandt if the Chicago Bears defense was the most dominating he's seen in his six decades in the NFL.

Gil Brandt's take: "The Bears beat us 44-0 that year at Texas Stadium." Point made.

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National Football League

24. Super Bowl XXI - New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20

Gil Brandt's take: "Tom Landry and I thought Bill Parcells had an excellent defense. We played them early in the year, in the opener, and beat them for a touchdown on a screen pass down the sideline. We won that game, and that was one of only two losses the Giants had that year. In the Super Bowl -- even though they were a defensive team -- offensively, Phil Simms (22-25, 268 yards and three touchdowns) really played over his head. That was the difference."

Simms' performance might have indeed been the difference, but defensive coordinator Bill Belichick ran a unit that would not let John Elway off the hook.

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National Football League

23. Super Bowl XXVIII - Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13

This Super Bowl rematch from the prior season wasn't as bad a game as everyone remembers. In fact, Buffalo led 13-6 at halftime. But talent decided the day in the second half, as well as some costly Bills turnovers. The Cowboys shut out the Bills 24-0 in the second half to win their second straight Super Bowl under Jimmy Johnson.

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Dave Martin/Associated Press

22. Super Bowl XXXI - Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21

The better team won, on the strength of special teams. Desmond Howard's kick return put the game away in theory; Reggie White and the defense ensured it. White wrapped up the Patriots' Drew Bledsoe three times while the Brett Favre-led offense did enough to keep control of the game, and ultimately prevail, 35-21.

Donovan McNabb's puking habits became all the rage in the media after Terrell Owens let the world in on his interpretation of why Philadelphia failed late: McNabb's conditioning could use the NordicTrac. Watch this game again, if you happened to DVR it back in January of 2005. The Eagles looked awfully lethargic getting in and out of the huddle, despite trailing 24-14 with five minutes left.

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Associated Press

20. Super Bowl XVII - Washington Redskins 27, Miami Dolphins 17

If there is a Super Bowl that no one remembers, it's Super Bowl XVII. The Dolphins quite possibly had the worst starters in Super Bowl history at the skill positions, with quarterback David Woodley hitting the immortal Jimmy Cefalo for a touchdown early. Still, this game wasn't decided until the Diesel (John Riggins) got going in the fourth quarter.

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Beth Keiser/Associated Press

19. Super Bowl XXX - Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

Neil O'Donnell to Larry Brown. That's all this Super Bowl will be remembered for. Pittsburgh laid some wood in the second half, but were let down by two bad throws, or bad routes, depending on your perspective of course. Either way, Dallas won its fifth Lombardi Trophy with the 27-17 victory. The franchise has only won two playoff games since.

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Pat Semansky/Associated Press

18. Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

Standing on the catwalk of Lucas Oil Stadium, at about the 35-yard line of the Giants, I had a perfect view of Eli Manning's 38-yard completion to Mario Manningham to set up Ahmad Bradshaw's go-ahead touchdown run ... er, fall. Bradshaw tried to stop himself from scoring, and fall on the one-foot line so as to not give the Patriots any time to mount a comeback.

It didn't matter. New England's last gasp drive didn't get far. Meanwhile, the lasting memory of this game was Manning's picture perfect throw, dropped perfectly over Manningham's shoulder nearly 40 yards downfield. It was a gutsy call on first down, and the play that won a second ring for Tom Coughlin's Giants.

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Paul Sancy/Associated Press

17. Super Bowl XLV - Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

Put the seat debacle aside for a moment. The Packers-Steelers Super Bowl in Dallas turned out to be a competitive game. Aaron Rodgers capped off a tremendous postseason with an incredible performance in the biggest game of his career. That said, it was a defensive play that underlined the Packers' win: Clay Matthews jarring hit on Rashard Mendenhall, which caused the Steelers tailback to cough up the football, and led to the decisive touchdown.

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Tom Hauck/Associated Press

16. Super Bowl XLIV - New Orleans Saints 31, Indianpolis Colts 17

Another very underrated Super Bowl. Don't let the final score (31-17) fool you; this was a close contest that might have swung on Sean Payton's gamble to onside kick to start the second half. Tracy Porter's late pick exemplified true mastery of the cornerback position, jumping the route to Reggie Wayne, and ultimately, giving a beleaguered city its first Lombardi Trophy.

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Associated Press

15. Super Bowl XVI - San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21

Gil Brandt's take: "We had a guy we drafted in the ninth round, Mike Wilson out of Washington State, who made a big catch for San Francisco on the sideline in the second half. Otherwise, their offense couldn't squeeze a drop the whole second half.

"We were disappointed to not be there, of course. The final drive of the (NFC) Championship Game they beat us utilizing their backs, Ricky Patton and (Lenvil) Elliott. Bill Walsh was smart. He saw us playing with five defensive backs and ran the ball. It was the right thing to do. Then you saw the play Eric Wright made on Drew Pearson, pulling him down from behind ... or he was gone. But they won the game, and then the Super Bowl."

A solid, if not incredible game, Super Bowl XVI kicked off the 49ers' dynasty.

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Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

14. Super Bowl XLVII - Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31

Well, if two hot quarterbacks with polar-opposite styles, a 34-minute power outage and nearly a 22-point, second-half comeback don't interest you, maybe a faceoff of two head coaches who just happen to be brothers and a fourth-and-goal stop essentially settling the game will.

At the end of the day, the Ravens' win might not be up there with Super Bowl X, but it's not far behind, while being one of the better Super Sunday's of recent vintage.

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National Football League

13. Super Bowl X - Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dalls Cowboys 17

Gil Brandt's take: "Mark Washington had good coverage on the (Lynn) Swann plays. But really, the amazing thing about that game was the fact that only one player on both teams ever played for another team. One guy! It was Preston Pearson, who we picked up before the season. So out of 86 players on the field, or whatever, one had not been with that team his whole career. And here's the thing about that: the team Preston played for was Pittsburgh, the team we were playing. Can you imagine that happening today?"

Super Bowl X was perhaps the first fiercely contested Super Sunday, with Art Rooney getting his second Lombardi Trophy in two seasons after 40 with nary a championship.

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Elise Amendola/Associated Press

12. Super Bowl XXXII - Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24

Former NFL Fantasy Live colleague Jason Smith simply says two words about this Super Bowl: "the helicopter."

Who could forget John Elway getting hammered -- upended -- in mid-air? This Super Bowl will always be remembered for Elway's heart, and finally winning the big one. But there were so many big plays. Watching Steve Atwater lay out the Packers' Robert Brooks and teammate Randy Hilliard -- and himself -- on one pass over the middle in the fourth quarter was football in the 1990s. Not anymore.

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Doug Mills/Associated Press

11. Super Bowl XXXVI - New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

"Spygate" has marred what was an exciting contest. New England halted the unstoppable -- aka "The Greatest Show on Turf" -- in perhaps the greatest team victory in Super Bowl history. St. Louis could not get its offense going in the second half, but put together impressive drives in the second half to tie the game at 17. That's when Bill Belichick decided to trust first-year starter Tom Brady with 1:21 left on the clock. The future Hall of Famer moved the team 53 yards in eight plays to set up Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal in the 20-17 win.

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G. Newman Lowrance/Associated Press

10. Super Bowl XLIII - Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

Another fantastic Super Bowl of recent vintage. The Santonio Holmes catch in the corner of the endzone to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals is burned in the mind's eye of anyone who recalls this game. What a performance by the Cardinals. What if Kurt Warner had more time at the end, a la Staubach in Super Bowl XIII? Look out.

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Paul Spinelli/Associated Press

9. Super Bowl XXXIV - St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee TItans 16

I ran into Eddie George at Super Bowl XLVI, an old colleague of mine from our time at Fox. A lot of people were asking him his thoughts on Super Bowl XLVI, but it was hard to forget his goal-line surge in Super Bowl XXXIV, one of the key plays in the Titans' comeback from a 16-point deficit.

Steve McNair was a beast late in the game, rolling out and just not letting the Rams bring him down. Kordell Stewart used to say McNair was "country strong." No joke. It's sad to think one of the starting quarterbacks in such a great -- recent -- Super Bowl is gone.

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Eric Gay/Associated Press

8. Super Bowl XXXVIII - New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29

Gil Brandt's take: "The Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl had a slow first half, and a great second half. Neither team could get going in the first half. But in the second, each team exchanged touchdowns and put up a lot of points. And, of course, then the Panthers kicked off and it went out of bounds ... that was a huge play."

I can still see Jake Delhomme rolling to his left and uncorking a long touchdown pass -- pure streetballin'. An exquisitely entertaining game.

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Associated Press

7. Super Bowl XIV - Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19

Gil Brandt's take: "The Super Bowl after we played them in XIII was one of the better games. They played it in Pasadena, and the Rams were able to get a halfback option pass from Lawrence McCutcheon for a touchdown on Pittsburgh. We thought we were in good position that year to play them. We had a good team ...

... but of course we were beaten on the Billy Waddy catch in the playoff versus the Rams. Aaron Kyle, who I drafted to play corner for us in '76 had him covered, but just didn't have any ball skills. He'd be right there tracking ... tracking ... but then as Waddy was coming down with the football, Kyle was jumping up. (Gil shook his head, putting his hand over his eyes. Something tells me that one still hurts.)"

If there's a forgotten great Super Bowl, this is it.

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National Football League

6. Super Bowl XXIII - San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16

Gil Brandt's take: "The second of the Bengals-49ers Super Bowls was one of the best games. Of course there was the Montana play, but Tim Krumrie broke his leg, which changed the game. It was close throughout."

Krumrie's injury allowed San Francisco to run the ball, but overall, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's unit kept the 49ers at bay most of the day ... until it really mattered. John Taylor caught the game-winner, and a piece of NFL history.

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Phil Sandlin/Associated Pres

5. Super Bowl XXV - New York Giants 20, Buffalo BIlls 19

Gil Brandt's take: "The Giants winning on the 'Wide Right' field goal. They basically played a 2-5 (defense) so as to try to stop the Buffalo offense. You know, the Giants played them earlier in the season and stifled Buffalo's offense ... now that was a really good game too. Jim Kelly got hurt, and (Frank) Reich had to come in."

Re-watching the broadcast of Super Bowl XXV, I can back up what Gil was saying. Here the Giants were, playing two down linemen with five linebackers moving around. Man, Bill Belichick was ahead of the game as a defensive coordinator.

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National Football League

4. Super Bowl III - New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

Gil Brandt's take: "Super Bowl III has to be one of the best because of what it meant. It changed the perception about the American Football League and the merger. That game was about the impact it had."

This game, in my mind, put NFL Films on the official map.

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Kathy Willens/Associated Press

3. Super Bowl XLIX - New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24

This presented what might become the rarest of things in the salary-cap era: a title bout between the certifiable two best teams. Was it the greatest ever? Time will tell, but as of right now, it slots here. Aspects will be long remembered, like Jermaine Kearse's circus catch and the How do you not give it to Beast Mode? goal-to-go sequence at the end. It is not too early to take a historical view of Malcolm Butler's interception to seal the win. Below, the most-clutch defensive plays in Super Bowl history:

2. Super Bowl XLII - New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

"So many small plays in a game can change a game," Gil Brandt says. "What if they had called in-the-grasp on Eli (Manning)? What if (David) Tyree doesn't trap the ball against his helmet? What if Asante Samuel doesn't worry about getting his feet down and catches the (interception)?"

I would only add that New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo showed us all how a rotating a good front four could win a game.

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Phil Sandlin/Associated Press

1. Super Bowl XIII - Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

The great ones never lose, they just run out of time. That's what happened to Roger Staubach in Super Bowl XIII, who overcame the most famous drop -- Jackie Smith's in the endzone -- in NFL history.

This 35-31 contest had so many moments ... a strip sack for a touchdown, Terry Bradshaw's MVP performance, the Smith drop, a big pass interference call on the Cowboys' Benny Barnes, and special teams fumble that turned the game around.

Gil Brandt's take: "Super Bowl XIII, in my mind, was the most memorable of the Super Bowls. Those were two great football teams. We (the Dallas Cowboys) made mistakes. We had Randy White on the return team with a cast on, and then he fumbled the kickoff ... which really hurt us. Even though we lost, I would say Super Bowl XIII was the greatest Super Bowl."